Nancy, Bess, and George have been invited by their former grade-school teacher June Braden to spend their vacation on the coast of Maine. Miss Braden's brother, Karl, was recently lost at sea and is presumed dead, but his daughter swears she has seen him lurking in the caves of Craven Cove. Nancy vows to help Laura Braden determine the truth about her father's fate, once and for all. If I had read this book when I was younger, I am almost certain it would have been a favourite of mine. It doesn't have the usual recipe for a Nancy Drew book that would have drawn me in- no long-lost treasures, no experimentation with historical fiction, no hidden compartments holding ancient letters that speak of a secret lost in time. Instead, what I liked about this book is that it consists of the faint outlines of an adult mystery novel. Not so much Agatha Christie (none could possibly compete with that calibre of story-telling), but more Mary Higgins Clark- minus the mysteriously handsome guy who inevitably turns out to be the culprit.... did I just give away the ending to every single Mary Higgins Clark novel? Oops! My bad!
Anyhow, back on track: The Ghost of Craven Cove may have been written for girls aged 9-12 or so, but the ghostwriter managed to draw in some other elements that make it a bit different from the other books. This mystery is one part personal loss, one part naval conspiracy, stirred into a huge pot of secrets with a fair amount of adventure and only the smallest dab of cheesy one-liners. On that last point, I feel the need to share one of my favourite lines: 'It's not just any bird,' [Laura] said. 'It's an albatross- the ancient sea symbol of doom!' (112). Oh NO! The ancient sea symbol of DOOM? Whatever can we do to be saved?!
Well, Nancy didn't seem that upset about it. Truth be told, I think she just wants Laura to chill out and shut up. Here's the 411 on Laura: she is 16, works 3-hr. shifts at a restaurant three days a week in the summer (I fail to see how this makes her as 'hard-working' as her Aunt June insists she is), and lost her father six months ago in what was passed off as an accident during a storm. She is obsessed with Craven Cove, which is near where her father's lobstering boat went down, and claims to have seen her father alive in the caves on multiple occasions. Laura also spills case details to the most likely suspects, whom she adamantly insists are not involved because 'they were SUCH good friends of Daddy's.' Which reminds me, every time she sees her father in the caves, he runs away (and I don't blame him!). Just kidding... but her naivety drove me nuts. I suppose it's one of those things a pre-teen girl isn't expected to notice- another reason I feel just a tad too old to be reading Nancy Drew books. Just wait until I pounce on The Curse of the Black Cat, which is so unrealistic I was laughing the whole way through.
Back to The Ghost of Craven Cove (I apologise for deviating from the subject at hand so consistently). One of the most entertaining aspects about this installment in the series is George's constant criticism of her cousin Bess' eating habits. Nancy's two best friends usually bicker lightly, and are described as being opposites: George is tall and athletic with short dark hair; Bess is short, blonde, very feminine, and slightly plump. The former generally makes at least one joke or reference to her cousin's love of food, but in this book it was never-ending. Some examples:
[Bess] 'Nothing but sunshine, the sea shore, fresh air-'
'And all the lobsters you can eat,' George teased (1).
[Sam] 'You like lobsters?'
'I sure do!' said Bess.
'And any other seafood she can get her hands on,' added George (20).
[Laura] 'You sit here and order anything you want. My treat.'
George's brown eyes twinkled. 'That's a dangerous thing to say to Bess at a restaurant (90)'.
Sometimes I wonder if Bess turns to food as a consolation for all of the criticism she receives from her cousin. I suppose it all depends upon the ghost writer: I recall one book in particular (#127: The Riddle in the Rare Book) in which Bess starts writing love poetry... about food. These poems might have mentioned an actual guy, but I wouldn't remember that part because I was so perplexed as to how 'chocolate mousse' fit into a love poem.
But, come to think of it, I'll bet the ghostwriters with the most off-beat occurrences in their storylines are just having a bit of fun. I think if I was approached to pen a Nancy Drew book, I would go to town with the cheesy dialogue and come up with the most creative ways possible for Nancy to almost be killed. So creative in fact, that readers would be horrified but would still laugh (if they can take a joke, that is). One day, I might even finish off our girl sleuth and her readers can find solace in the fact that she did not die from a car bomb set by one of her suspects, but rather that her brakes failed (simply because her dad forgot to change the brake fluid and not because some bad guy was out to get her) and as her car sped out of control she jumped from the window into a conveniently-placed lake; yet she lost consciousness on impact and though a ten-year-old girl pulled her to safety, Nancy Drew was unable to revive herself.
I think I have found my life's calling.
